GENERAL MINORU GENDA, 84, DIES: PLANNED ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR

By PETER B. FLINT

Published: August 17, 1989

General Minoru Genda, who planned the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died of heart disease in a Tokyo hospital Tuesday on the 44th anniversary of the end of the World War II. He would have been 85 years old yesterday.

General Genda, an early advocate of naval air power over surface vessels, was a native of Hiroshima and a 1924 graduate of the Japanese Naval Academy, where he introduced aerobatics teams that were popularly known as ''Genda's circuses.''

He became a fighter pilot while bombing and strafing cities in China and was increasingly regarded by Japanese leaders as one of the nation's brightest young officers. As a commander in the navy, he was assigned to the general staff and directed to draft the air tactics for the Pearl Harbor assault, which crippled the American Pacific fleet and plunged the United States into World War II. He was aboard one of the carriers that staged the strike on Dec. 7, 1941, but illness kept him from piloting a bomber. Low-Flying Torpedo Bombers

He is considered responsible for originating attacks by low-flying torpedo bombers, which were used with devastating effect. The assault killed nearly 2,450 Americans, sank or severely damaged 19 ships, destroyed 177 planes and gave Japan control of the central Pacific.

When the Japanese entered the Pacific war, he recalled, ''I thought we would win, but we misjudged America's real strength. We lacked war materiel, and our national leadership was not up to the task.''

After World War II, he was commissioned a general in the air force and served as chief of staff from 1959 to 1962, when he was elected to the upper house of Parliament. For years he was chairman of the National Defense Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party and served many terms in Parliament, retiring in 1986.

In 1969, General Genda said that if he had been commander-in-chief of the Japanese armed forces in 1941, he would have ordered repeated air attacks on Pearl Harbor and the occupation of the Hawaiian Islands by Japanese forces as a base for an attack on the West Coast of the United States. Would Have Used A-Bombs

The outspoken, craggy-faced general said that if Japan had possessed atomic bombs, it might have used them against the United States. He also expressed the view that Japan should allow the United States to station nuclear arms on Japanese soil, a statement that prompted a rebuke by party leaders.

General Genda made these remarks during a three-week speaking tour of the United States sponsored by the Naval Institute, a private historical and professional association. Addressing American officers and midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy, he said the idea for the concentrated strike from a task force of aircraft carriers came to him in 1940 while he was watching an American newsreel. His 1969 tour of the United States drew protests from some veterans' groups, but his appearances were generally politely received.

Seven years earlier, he received the highest United States honor given to foreigners, the Legion of Merit, for his role in rebuilding the Japanese air force and cooperating closely with the United States. A Top Fighter Pilot

General Genda was instrumental in arming Japan's air force with the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and was considered to be one of the best Japanese pilots of the F-104. By 1960 he had logged 5,000 hours of flying time, 1,000 of them in jets in which he was instructed by Americans.

Even with the augmented Japanese air force, he said that, except for limited actions, Japan must rely on American might for its defense.

Asked about his ties with Americans, he replied: ''Of course, I get along fine with them. The American pilots especially are a wonderful, congenial bunch of men.'' Questioned about the scars of combat, he said, ''Wars are fought and then they end, and when they end we don't look back - only forward.''

The general abstained from cigarettes and alcohol and helped keep his trim, muscular body in shape by rising at 4 A.M., exercising, briskly walking his many dogs and getting to bed by 8 P.M. He was a strong advocate of animals' rights.